I have liked Claire. I have this whole cheerleader thing already, and she is just piling on (or in this case, piling in). Now I want, really badly, a Claire icon that says "Save the cheerleader, save the world."
I love Claire. She is my favorite part of the show. She is blonde cheerleader reluctant hero who won't let other people get hurt, and yet she is not a Buffy-clone, she is just Claire.
What got me where I lived and breathed was that it wasn't her own violation that made her go all Steely, Righteous Vengeance. It was the *other girl's*.
I'm uncomfortable with vengeance even though it's clear that the Texas football hero will be believed over any number of women. But I really like Claire's refusal to fit in any conventional categories, even the geek guy's. If she's going to use her powers, she's going to use them her way. I also like that she is consistent about denial: she resists the idea that her powers will inevitably transform her life, she resists the idea that anything deliberate was done to her -- until she can't, and then she takes decisive action. I love the idea that she's the most important person of the Heroes.
But what I really want to say, on further reflection, is that there's a heavy dose of self-interest in Claire's vengeance. She isn't just enforcing justice for the other girl's sake -- there was an element of jealousy and an element of self-protection ("I already call you a slut"). I like Claire a lot, but I didn't get Steely, Righteous Vengeance the same way you did. It may be part of why I like Claire a lot.
I was partly being glib with Steely, Righteous Vengeance, but I do think there's something to the fact that Claire *wasn't* particularly interested in doing anything to or about the quarterback until *someone else* said "this happened to me, too." To me, that's significant, even if Claire's got her own reasons for ultimately doing what she did. If they wanted it to be *just* about Claire, then there was no need for her to have that conversation with the other girl; she could have just seen the quarterback in the hall and it triggered a visceral reaction in her that lead to the car crash.
But that's not what they did. They specifically had someone else relay their own victimization to her and *then* had her act. I don't think that sequencing can or should be ignored, particularly not given that Claire apparently is ultimately going to be a part of something that's *bigger* than her and her personal issues.
I absolutely agree that Claire was far from indifferent to the other girl's victimization, and that it helped her make the decision to do what she did. But the quarterback called her and the other girl sluts in rapid succession. If he'd tried to sweet-talk her and distinguished a good girl like her from a slut like other girls, I don't know that she would have crashed the car. But I think it's extremely telling that she said "You're just going to keep doing this, aren't you?" She was thinking about her own reputation and the harm he was doing to other girls.
So I guess I'd say she's starting a process -- now she is trying to help people with whom she identifies, and the end of the heroic journey is helping people no matter what, because of what she can do and not because of what they're like. Whether she'll make that full journey or not, I want to see what she does.
I love that about her too! There's something very specific about her rationality, something I never got from Buffy, because Buffy operated from her heart and her gut. Claire is level-headed and smarter than her blond cheerleader/popular girl persona implies; I love it. And the actress who plays her is wonderful: full of warmth and full of strength.
Claire has defied my expectations - and I'm generally anti-cheerleader. Buffy worked (even in the horrific movie) for me though; Claire is simply awesome. I suspect it has to do with assumptions and the violation of those assumptions. Oh, and doing "the right thing" (or well intentioned thing) helps too.
Welcome! Yes, violation of assumptions about what it means to be a cheerleader work well for me. I also like the tumbling/teamwork, though -- I really do like watching cheerleading, except for the cheer part.
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That was just ... yeah.
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But that's not what they did. They specifically had someone else relay their own victimization to her and *then* had her act. I don't think that sequencing can or should be ignored, particularly not given that Claire apparently is ultimately going to be a part of something that's *bigger* than her and her personal issues.
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So I guess I'd say she's starting a process -- now she is trying to help people with whom she identifies, and the end of the heroic journey is helping people no matter what, because of what she can do and not because of what they're like. Whether she'll make that full journey or not, I want to see what she does.
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Friended you and...
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Re: Friended you and...
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